


Kerosene

by 123Booilove



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Continuation, Multi, Post Pesterquest, Revolution
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:46:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25906081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/123Booilove/pseuds/123Booilove
Summary: Pesterquest really set up an amazing story for the trolls starting a revolt, but didn't really expand on it much. I assume it's because there will at some point be a sequel, but until then...here's this. Come get your food, everyone. Revolution fic time.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	Kerosene

Wow. You really just did that. You really just teleported into the fucking  Green Sun  and somehow managed to not die. You also managed to, with sheer force of will, become a First Guardian. You give yourself a small pat on the back. You deserve it, honestly. 

You’re suddenly hit by the amount of power you have. Not only do you have your retcon powers, you’re now basically omniscient and...holy shit that is a  _ lot _ . You spend a moment getting lost in the sheer amount of information available to you now before you shove it all to the back of your head. Just...focus on the here and now. You’re still smack in the middle of the  Green Sun and you should probably go tell Aradia that you’re not dead. You teleport back to where Aradia is waiting for you, and in your momentary lapse of focus on exactly what you’re thinking and feeling, everything is pushed to the front of your mind again. You’re overwhelmed again, and you’re unable to say anything with the tidal wave of everything pushing at every expanse of your mind, but luckily Aradia doesn’t seem to mind. She seems perfectly content to wait while you gather your bearings.

You’re unsure of how long the two of you float there. It’s hard to keep track of time when all you can focus on is keeping your head above the ocean of knowledge that was suddenly poured into your head. It would be so easy to slip under. Just...let go and become the knowledge, to forget yourself and lose everything in the vastness of the Universe. 

But no. You are not going to. Your friends need you. 

Eventually, the knowledge subsides and your vision comes back into focus. You let out a breath you didn’t even notice you were holding. 

“so,” Aradia begins. “you didn’t die.” She doesn’t sound particularly enthused about this, but she doesn’t sound disappointed either. “what now?”

You think for a moment. She brings up good question, one you hadn’t really been thinking about when making this plan. You can basically do anything now. Anything is a lot of options. Too many options, you think. You’ll just stick to what you do best, which is helping your friends. You figure Vriska and Terezi could probably make some use of your First Guardian abilities. 

You realize you’ve been silent for longer than would probably be comfortable in a normal conversation and say,

“I...I think we’re gonna start a fucking revolution.”

Aradia grins that creepy, almost sinister grin that you are slowly learning to love. “i want in.”

You furrow your eyebrows slightly in confusion. Hadn’t she said she was going to leave canon? Although you’re not entirely sure that’s even possible anymore, considering this isn’t canon anymore. Plus it being a locked timeline and all. But what do you know, you were never an expert on all this timeline stuff. “Weren’t you gonna leave canon?” you ask. “Not that I’m complaining, we’re gonna need all the help we can get.” you quickly add, not wanting to put her off from helping. Having a godtier on your side would definitely be useful.

Aradia shrugs, placing a hand on her hip and waving the other one nonchalantly. “i was, but honestly your thing sounds way more interesting.” 

You guess you can’t argue with that logic. You and Aradia stand there for a few moments in comfortable silence, just watching each other. Your mind wanders slightly, just going over the events of the past hour or two.

Oh fuck. You’re suddenly hit with flashes of Dave and Dirk, talking on the roof of Dirk’s apartment. You gasp as you realize you left Dave stranded in an unfamiliar timeline with his dead teen brother. Wow, that’s a wild sentence. 

“I have to go,” You announce, and Aradia turns to you and raises an eyebrow. She doesn’t seem upset by this, just curious. You explain the situation, and she nods with a slight laugh.

“your life is way more interesting than mine, im kinda jealous.” She’s teasing you, you think. It’s kind of hard to tell with her sometimes. “you can go, ill find something to do. you know how to find me.” 

You nod, and with a wave and a smile, you disappear. You reappear back on Dirk’s roof, where you left him and Dave. Unsurprisingly, the two are still talking, sitting shoulder to shoulder. Dave looks like he can still hardly believe that he’s actually talking to Dirk, and you feel a pang in your chest for him. They look up at you, their conversation coming to a stop. You wave before moving to sit down in front of them, crossing your legs. 

“So what exactly happened?” Dirk asks, raising an eyebrow. You consider explaining everything that happened, but decide against it. Too complicated, and he doesn’t want to tell Dirk everything future him does. He’d probably beat himself up over it. 

“It’s a long story,” you say instead, waving your hand as if to dismiss the question. Dirk seems to take that as an acceptable answer and nods. Dave sighs, causing both of you to look in his direction. 

“you’re gonna have to take me back, aren’t you?” He sounds resigned. You nod, despite the guilt it makes you feel. Even though the candy timeline isn’t canon, it’s still important, and Dave needs to be there. That doesn’t stop your heart from aching at the thought of bringing him back and making him face what’s to come. He sighs, running and hand through his hair and nodding. “when?” he asks, and you shrug. 

“Anytime, technically.” You say before realizing that’s no fucking help in any way. Dave doesn’t respond for a moment, seemingly thinking. 

“okay, can you just....give me a couple more minutes?” You nod and sit there for about ten seconds before realizing he probably wants some privacy, duh. That’s his dead brother and you’re a stranger he met about an hour ago. You teleport away, not far, just inside Dirk’s apartment. You look at the clock so you’ll know when it’s been a couple of minutes, because your perception of time is way off. Then you sit down on the couch, relaxing.

What should you do after this, anyways? Before you were trying to find what you’re supposed to do, and now it feels like you found it. You locked this timeline away, safe. You don’t think your old friends are accessible to you anymore, which...hurts. But you shouldn’t dwell on it. What about Vriska and her revolt? What’s even going on with that? She seemed pretty down about it last time you saw her, although you guess that’s probably your fault. Maybe you should try and Know....

You try and dip your toes into the knowledge pooling in the back of your brain, looking for Vriska somewhere in it. It sucks in your whole leg, and suddenly you’re seeing flashes of her life. Her birth, her grub trials, her first sacrifice to her lucus, her-

You pull your leg out, slamming the door closed on that train of thought. That’s really personal shit, and you don’t want to pry into your friend’s lives any more than you already have by reading that story. You’ll just have to ask her yourself after dropping Dave off.

You check the clock to see that it’s been about ten minutes and you get up before teleporting back up. Your vision comes back to see Dirk and Dave hugging again. You don’t blame him. You can see tears streaming from his face, and he’s clinging to his brother like his life depends on it. Dirk looks slightly uncomfortable, but he’s hugging back. He pats Dave’s back awkwardly, looking like he has no idea how to handle this. You stand there for a few more moments until Dave notices you and lets go, pushing his glasses up to wipe at his eyes. 

“sorry for being so weird, this is probably really awkward for you,” he says, and Dirk nods slightly.

“Yeah, a bit, but I get it. I’d probably be doing the same if I were you” Dave gives him a sad smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. Dirk looks at the ground, and you can tell he’s starting to blame himself already. So can Dave, apparently, because he reaches out and hits the side of Dirk’s head gently. 

“don’t you dare blame yourself, dude. you didn’t do this.” He says sternly.

“But it’s  _ my  _ splinter-” Dave cuts him off.

“it wasn’t you, though. and even if it was, i wouldn’t be mad. it’s not your fault.” Dave’s tone leaves no room for argument, and Dirk sighs before nodding. Dave gives him a real smile this time. “i love you, man. you’re gonna do great.” He turns to you, taking a step away from Dirk. “okay, im ready.” 

You look over to Dirk, who nods at you. You grab Dave’s arm, teleporting him back to where you first found him. As soon as he’s gone, Dirk’s gaze returns to the floor. He doesn’t say anything, simply walking past you and into the staircase that leads back into the apartment. Now you’re alone on the roof. You don’t think following him would be the best idea, considering what just happened. You think Dirk probably sorts through things on his own best. So, you do what you decided on doing after finishing up here. You teleport into Vriska’s hive. 

She turns around in her desk chair when she see the flash of light of your arrival fill up her room, smiling and relaxing when she sees it’s you. 

“Hey!!!!!!!!” She grins, standing up. “Man, it’s 8een forever! I’ve just 8een w8ing to talk to you! W8ing and w8ing and w8ing….which is why I got you this!” Vriska shoves something small and rectangular into your chest, and you grab it before looking down to see what it is. It’s a phone-er, a palmhusk! You’re about to thank her for the gift when she begins to speak again. “I already downloaded trollian and added 8oth me and Terezi. It has some stupid default username right now, 8ut you can change that. You can download whatever dum8 shit you want on there, theres plenty of games you’d like.” 

You smile brightly at Vriska, your chest warm with fuzzy feelings. “Thank you, Vriska! This is really nice of you, it means a lot.” She rolls her eyes as you place the phone in your hoodie pocket. 

“Yeah, yeah, look, I need your help.” You perk up immediately. Yes, this is perfect! Look at you, already being useful. “Terezi and I need to recruit people for our movement, and I’m not the most….” She pauses for a moment. “..likable person. You however, are amazing at convincing people to agree with you. I’d almost respect you for it if you weren’t so dum8.” You nod along as she speaks, not particularly hurt by the insult. You’ve always known you aren’t the brightest tool in the shed. Shit, you mean sharpest. Dammit. “So..I need your help getting our friends on 8oard with this. Specifically Karkat and Equius. Although it’ll 8e easier to rope Equius in once we have Nepeta on our side. So mostly Karkat.” 

You smile brightly. Karkat likes you! It shouldn’t be too hard to convince him. “That shouldn’t be too hard! When should we go?” Vriska shrugs. She thinks about it for a moment before answering. “Whenever, I guess. His place in the order doesn't really matter.” 

“Order?” You question, unsure of if she means a chronological order or an order like the Order of the Sith. Wow, order doesn’t really feel like a word anymore. Vriska nods, sitting back down in her desk chair.

“There’s certain people who are probably going to need convincing from people other than me and Terezi. For example, we already got Eridan mostly in the 8ag, 8ut we needed Sollux to help for that. So we went to him first. He wasn’t that hard to convince, considering when he grows up he’ll basically have to 8e a living 8attery. Equius is going to 8e hard to convince, but it’ll be easier if we have Nepeta.” She moves her legs up to rest on the armrest of the chair, now sitting horizontally. She seems the most relaxed you’ve ever seen her. Well, the most relaxed you’ve ever seen her in real life. You’re happy she’s able to feel like this around you. Since you’ve regained your memory you know that your original belief of Vriska having done nothing wrong is...extremely not true. But you’re still her friend, and you still care about her. 

You bring your focus back to Vriska when you realize she’s still talking. “...Karkat doesn’t really listen to anyone, the stu88orn asshole, so it doesn’t matter when we recruit him.” Your question about an order wasn’t really answered, but that might be because you were zoned out for most of the second half of her explanation. You guess that’s on you. It doesn’t really matter, anyways, you just need to do what Vriska asks of you. You realize Vriska is probably waiting for you to say something. 

“So I just have to go and convince him to join?” You ask, shrugging. Not to be complacent, but that’s not anywhere near the hardest thing you’ve had to do so far. Vriska barks out a short, mocking laugh.

“No way you’re going 8y yourself.” Vriska taps her nails against her thigh. “You’re way too soft” You open your mouth to protest before realizing she’s right and snapping it back closed. You do cross your arms in displeasure, though. Vriskah shrugs. “Maybe if you were less of a piss8aby you’d be a8le to go 8y yourself. Them’s the 8reaks!” You take the insult in stride, like usual. And by taking it in stride you mean completely ignoring it.

“Whatever, when are we going?” You ask, and she shrugs. 

“Whenever you’re ready, take however long you need.” You nod, sitting down on the floor. You should probably come up with a plan of some sort. Step one: teleport into Karkat’s hive. Step two: explain your cause. Step three: convince him. Yep, sounds good to you. Easy enough. 

You stand up, and she raises an eyebrow. “That was fast.” You shrug, holding out your hand for her. She takes it. 

You teleport the two of them into Karkat’s room. He’s hunched over at his computer, like usual. He doesn’t notice you teleport in. Vriska clears her throat and you try not to laugh as Karkat yelps and falls out of his chair. He quickly stands up, turning around as quickly as possible. He glares at you, although you’re far used to it by now. 

“JESUS FUCKING CHRIST, GIVE ME SOME WARNING!” Karkat says in his usual shouty manner. Vriska furrows her eyebrows, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. 

“who the fuck is jesus????????” she asks, and you laugh at that. Karkat really has been hanging around with Dave a lot. Which makes sense, taking what you know now into consideration. That’s still really weird shit to know about someone, you’re not sure how you feel about that. 

Karkat shakes his head. “NOBODY, WHAT DO YOU GUYS WANT? NO OFFENCE, BUT I DON’T FUCKING LIKE YOU, VRISKA.” Blunt as usual. Vriska just rolls her eyes, placing a hand on her hip.

“yeah i know dum8ass, that’s why i 8rought this dipshit,” She gestures to you as she speaks. “They’re doing the talking.” Oh shit, you are? You panic slightly, not wanting to fuck up too badly. 

“Uh, yeah! So basically, join our revolution!” You smile weakly, and Vriska glares hard at you. Karkat however just stares at you. For a lot longer than you’re comfortable with. 

Eventually, he just says, “WHAT.” You honestly don’t know what to do other than repeat yourself. 

“Join our revolution!” You say, in the exact same tone of voice, like a fucking broken record. Beside you, Vriska groans. 

“YEAH I FUCKING GOT THAT, I’M JUST HONESTLY CURIOUS AS TO WHY YOU’D TRY SOMETHING THAT FUCKING STUPID. LIKE, COME ON. THAT WAS TRIED BEFORE, AND IT ENDED UP WITH EVERYONE INVOLVED DYING PAINFULLY OR BECOMING A BATTERY FOR THE CONDENSE. SERIOUSLY, THAT’S A WHOLE OTHER BRAND OF FUCKING IDIOT THAT I DON’T WANT TO TAKE ANY PART IN.” You feel yourself get slightly angry as you listen to his words. This is something you really believe in, godammit, and you don’t want people calling you stupid for it. Friend or no. 

When you’re sure he’s done, you start going on a rant of your own. “Yeah, maybe it is fucking stupid! Maybe the odds are stacked against us and maybe we’re way too overwhelmed, but so what?! Have you seen the shit that goes on here??” You’re starting to get really passionate now, thinking about how this planet and it’s culture has hurt almost every single one of your friends. “I mean, even the highbloods are affected by it! And we have fucking power in numbers, you know! If we get the seadwellers and landdwellers to unite, we’d be fucking amazing!” You cross your arms, glaring at Karkat for a moment before dropping it. You can’t really find it in yourself to be mad at your friends for very long. 

“OKAY, AND HOW THE FUCK DO YOU PLAN ON GETTING THE SEADWELLERS ON YOUR SIDE? WE HATE EACH OTHER.” Karkat brings up, and you frown. You’re not really sure, strategy isn’t your strong suit. 

“I don’t know yet, but how do you expect to get anything done if we don’t even try?” 

Karkat doesn’t seem to have anything to say to that. You just all stare at each other for a minute. Eventually, Vriska speaks up. “Plus, once you have your adult molt it’ll 8e pretty o8vious you’re a mutant. Instant culling. So it’s either die trying to get a 8etter life or die being a compliant pet.” She shrugs nonchalantly, like Karkat dying is a thought that doesn’t really affect her. Karkat immediately starts sputtering, defences bubbling out of his mouth. 

“I-I AM NOT A MUTANT, WHERE THE FUCK DID YOU-WHAT EVEN MAKES YOU THINK-” You frown, knowing how touchy of a subject this is for your friend. You don’t want to upset him, but it seems like Vriska has other plans. 

“Okay, give me your hand then.” She steps forwards, holding out a hand. Your frown deepens. 

“Vriska-” You start, but you shut up when she throws a piercing glare your way. You’ll intervene if it gets too out of hand. Karkat is stood frozen in front of Vriska, eyes wide in fear. 

“I-I DON’T HAVE TO PROVE ANYTHING TO YOU, THIS IS FUCKING RIDICULOUS, THERE’S NO WAY I’M JOINING YOUR STUPID REBELLION.” Despite his words, you can see him shaking. Okay, you’re not just gonna sit by while Karkat is terrorized by Vriska. Just as you’re about to say something, you see Vriska grab at Karkat’s arm. You guess the hemospectrum gap is at fault for how slow Karkat is to react to Vriska, how he barely has time to panic before she’s using her claws to cut through his skin. Everyone in the room is silent for a few moments, staring at the blood oozing from Karkat’s wound.

“...And there it is. Mutant 8lood. You’re fucked.” Vriska sounds almost in awe, like she didn’t entirely believe it. Karkat just stares at his hand for a couple more moments of peace before everything devolves into chaos. Karkat jumps into a frenzy, kicking Vriska hard in the chest. She didn’t seem to expect it, so she’s unable to dodge as she’s kicked onto the floor. 

“ **GET THE** **_FUCK OUT!_ ** ” Man, you’re used to Karkat’s shouting, but he practically wails that at you both, holding his hand to his chest. You can see tears start to well up in his eyes, and guilt surges in your chest. You should have seen this coming.

“Karkat-” You start, intending to comfort him. He turns his gaze to you, and you wilt under the amount of anger in his gaze.

“ **OUT!!!!!”** He screams again, and you scramble to fall onto the floor next to Vriska, grabbing her shoulder and teleporting the two of you away. You’re not entirely sure where to, just away. 

The two of you land in the field you tend to frequent, both of you breathing heavily and staring at each other. It takes you a minute to gather your thoughts, anger at Vriska growing quickly. 

“What the fuck??” You eventually ask, not able to bring yourself to glare at Vriska but not willing to just let it go either. She seems angry too, although you doubt it’s at herself.

“I know, right???????? He’s such a 8a8y. Whatever, we don’t need him.” Despite your words, you can see she’s upset by it. Not as much as when she was rejected by Tavros, but still annoyed. She stands up, brushing herself off. You do the same, making a noise of frustration. 

“No, Vriska! That was way out of line!” She gives you a small glare, and her fists clench.

“You can’t 8e doing th8s again!” She exclaims. “8’m trying to  _ help _ him!” She stamps her foot like a child, and you’re suddenly hit by how young your friends are. They’re 12 and 13 and they’re trying to start a goddamn revolution. Jesus. That’s a crisis for later, you decide as you bring your attention back to the girl in front of you. You take a deep breath, determined to be the calm one here.

“I know that, Vriska, but giving him a panic attack isn’t the way to do that. I know you’re used to getting your way through brute force, but that doesn’t work for everyone. Karkat’s sensitive.” You explain, and she deflates. This is the second time you’ve seen her look defeated like this. It hurts you, because you know she isn’t used to failure. She probably doesn’t know how to deal with this. This might be good for her, actually. You don’t know much about revolutions, but you figure there’s going to be a lot of failure in store for all of them. 

Vriska wraps her arms around herself and mumbles, “I know. I’m sorry” Guilt pierces your heart, even though you know you’re right. You pat her shoulder, trying to be comforting, but she just flinches. You pull your hand back quickly. 

“It’s okay, just...we can try again sometime, maybe.” Vriska seems to perk up slightly at that, nodding. She goes back to standing in her usual confident stance, facade back up. 

“Yeah, maybe I’ll sic Terezi on him.” You laugh at that, touching her arm to teleport you both back to her hive. She looks disgruntled when you let go of her, and you realize you probably should have warned her before doing that. Oh well. She recovers quickly, though, and soon she’s grabbing your sleeve and pulling you towards the door.

“Come on, there’s this arcade I wanna show you!” 

You follow her out the door, your mutual failure pushed to the back of your mind.


End file.
